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Is an AirTag worth it for iPhone SE 2020 or is there something better?

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Is an AirTag worth it for iPhone SE 2020 or is there something better?

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Old Jul 6, 2022, 8:11 pm
  #1  
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Is an AirTag worth it for iPhone SE 2020 or is there something better?

Since my iPhone SE doesn’t have the U1 chip that is needed for the precision finding functionality of the AirTag (and thus is not considered newer than the iPhone 11), is it worth even buying an AirTag? Is there something better?
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Last edited by Moderator2; Jul 8, 2022 at 5:52 pm Reason: Moderator removed introductory sentence after fixing thread title - to ensure quality indexing in the database
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Old Jul 6, 2022, 8:46 pm
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Originally Posted by Analise
Since my iPhone SE doesn’t have the U1 chip that is needed for the precision finding functionality of the AirTag (and thus is not considered newer than the iPhone 11), is it worth even buying an AirTag? Is there something better?
AirTags still work to help locate things even via older iPhones. Not as precisely in a close range to the phone, but accurately enough still. And there are still the crowdsourcing benefits for locating a missing AirTag-connected item.
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Last edited by Moderator2; Jul 8, 2022 at 5:51 pm Reason: Quote corrected by Moderator after title changes
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Old Jul 7, 2022, 9:27 am
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The only difference is that with the U1 when your phone is close to the Airtag it will tell you how far you are from the Airtag and show an arrow on the screen pointing in the direction of the Airtag. Without the U1 it will just tell you approx how far you are. Either way, you can make the Airtag beep to find it once you're within 10-20 feet of it.
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Old Jul 7, 2022, 11:33 am
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Originally Posted by gfunkdave
The only difference is that with the U1 when your phone is close to the Airtag it will tell you how far you are from the Airtag and show an arrow on the screen pointing in the direction of the Airtag. Without the U1 it will just tell you approx how far you are. Either way, you can make the Airtag beep to find it once you're within 10-20 feet of it.
Given what you wrote, is it still worth buying an AirTag or should I look at Tile or another brand?
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Old Jul 7, 2022, 11:35 am
  #5  
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
AirTags still work to help locate things even via older iPhones. Not as precisely in a close range to the phone, but accurately enough still. And there are still the crowdsourcing benefits for locating a missing AirTag-connected item.
Originally Posted by gfunkdave
The only difference is that with the U1 when your phone is close to the Airtag it will tell you how far you are from the Airtag and show an arrow on the screen pointing in the direction of the Airtag. Without the U1 it will just tell you approx how far you are. Either way, you can make the Airtag beep to find it once you're within 10-20 feet of it.
Given what you both wrote, is it still worth buying an AirTag or should I look at Tile or another brand?
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Old Jul 7, 2022, 12:01 pm
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If you have an iPhone then get an Airtag. And as GUWonder mentioned, there's the crowdsourcing benefit that any iPhone, iPad, or Mac can help locate your Airtag. There are a lot more of those than Tiles.
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Old Jul 7, 2022, 2:28 pm
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Originally Posted by Analise
Given what you both wrote, is it still worth buying an AirTag or should I look at Tile or another brand?
AirTag will almost certainly have a supported service lifespan from Apple that is longer than Tile. Apple’s so big that it’s not going to disappear as soon as Tile.

The AirTag-locating crowdsourcing network Apple has is much more widespread and dense than Tile’s network is even with Amazon Sidewalk being considered.

I still have more use cases for Tile than for AirTag, but that’s more particular to my use in extremely low traffic areas than is generally the case for people who stay on the more beaten track.
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Old Jul 10, 2022, 2:21 pm
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I’ve been mulling this too, as I also have an SE. but I’ve decided that I’m more interested in if my bag is in the country I am in, rather than the specific location to search in. So AirTag for me. If nothing else, if the bag has been left behind I can go straight to lost bags rather than hanging around to see if it’s the last bag off.
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